The Lamp Lighter

[gray_marian]

My tea is nearly ready and the sun has left the sky;

It's time to take the window to see Leerie going by;

For every night at teatime and before you take your seat,

With lantern and with ladder he comes posting up the street.

Now Tom would be a driver and Maria go to sea,

And my papa's a banker and as rich as he can be;

But I, when I am stronger and can choose what I'm to do,

Oh Leerie, I'll go round at night and light the lamps with you!

For we are very lucky, with a lamp before the door,

And Leerie stops to light it as he lights so many more;

And O! before you hurry by with ladder and with light,

O Leerie, see a little child and nod to him tonight!

Robert Louis Stevenson

[John F Collier]

#1 That reminds me of the lovely old song, "The Old Lamp Lighter" of long long ago. It was always a favourite of mine. cheers JC

[Captain Kong]

I remember the gas lamp lighters before and after WW2, none during of course.
Brian

[happy daze john in oz]

I was surprised to find out there are still over 100 gas lamps in central London still in use today. Every night the lamp lighters set them up and in the morning turn of.

[Fouro]

When reading thro' these few threads I asked my wife Rose who was brought up in the East End of London if she remembered the street lamp lighters, yes she said, I remember them when we lived in Juniper Street. They lit the street lights in the early evening and when they came round in the morning to put them out, they would use their long poles to tap on the windows of those who wanted an early call to get up for work.
So you see there are still some of us around who remember the old times.

FOURO.

[Richard Quartermaine]

My dad was born in Tower Hamlets, East London in 1896 and told us that in the days of horse transport their were blokes (on roller skates?) that shovelled up horse droppings. I wonder if that was a council job or an enterprise for sale to market gardeners.
Richard

[Jim Brady]

I seem to recall that different coloured glass was put in to replace the broken panels, you could have a gas lamp with three different pieces of coloured glass,maybe there was a shortage of clear glass.There was a very tall gas lamp just around the corner from the Caradoc it was lit 24/7 as it was burning the methane off the sewer.
Regards.
Jim.B.
PS Just remembered had some beauties of lumps on the back of the head.We had ropes over the arms of the lamp-post where we would swing around the post,we did what was called a "dolly tub" where you did a turn in flight if there wasn't enough slack it resulted in you hitting the back of your head on the lamp.We never learnt we went back and did it again.

[gray_marian]

#5, FOURO, I can remember the lamp lighter in Dennistoun, Glasgow. That was around 1959/61 the reason being as I wanted that job when I grew up, that and being a milk monitor [but that was to escape the classroom]how I thought I'd manage those crates did not enter my head. Left there in 1963 aged 5

[Captain Kong]

Giving your age away now Marian, and I thought you was a young lady of 21.
Cheers
Brian

[gray_marian]

Only in my head Captain. Actually hitting forty took me years to get over that one. Fifty was a doddle